The overall goal of the UM-CDAAR is to move toward the elimination of health disparities by enhancing behavioral, clinical, basic, epidemiological, prevention, and applied research on drug abuse and HIV/AIDS infection and other co-occurring illnesses, through the support of shared resources. Our application proposes to build a research center of national importance on the foundation of an experienced group of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse researchers who have worked together for the past quarter of a century. The creation of the UM-CDAAR will enable us to formalize these working relationships and to expand this collaboration to over 40 HIV/AIDS and/or drug abuse investigators to enhance their individually funded projects as well as foster programmatic coherence, synergy and integration locally, nationally and internationally. Collectively, this group has co-authored over 1000 publications and has worked together on more than 50 federally funded grants. The five UM- CDAAR cores were selected by a needs assessment process conducted with currently funded HIV/AIDS and drug abuse investigators. Cores were selected that support the aims of the individual grants and provide shared resources that would contribute toward cost-effectiveness and quality control in resource utilization. These cores include (a) Administrative Core; (b) Developmental Core; (c) Biostatistics, Data Management and Information Technology Core; (d) Interventions ore; and (e) Transdisciplinary Methods Core. Core Leaders and Co-Leaders were selected based on knowledge, experience, and representation of the many different HIV/AIDS and drug abuse research areas at the University of Miami. All CDAAR core leaders have an outstanding record of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse research based on current NIH funding and peer-reviewed publications. Evidence of senior leadership and administrative excellence is demonstrated by the inclusion of five current department chairs in the CDAAR leadership.